The Trials of Apollo_Book 4_The Tyrant's Tomb

“I understand.” Diana sighed. “Romantic love. It’s a plague.”

“Lavinia, h-how did you…” I stammered. “Where did you—?”

“This young woman,” said Diana, “was responsible for the
destruction of the Triumvirate’s fleet.”

“Well, I had a lot of help,” Lavinia said.

“PEACHES!” said a muffled voice from somewhere in the
chariot.

He was so short, I hadn’t noticed him before, hidden as he was
behind the carriage’s sideboard and the crowd of big folk, but now
Peaches squirmed and climbed his way to the top of the railing. He
grinned his wicked grin. His diaper sagged. His leafy wings rustled.
He beat his chest with his minuscule fists and looked very pleased
with himself.

“Peaches!” Meg cried.

“PEACHES!” Peaches agreed, and he flew into Meg’s arms.
Never had there been such a bittersweet reunion between a girl and
her deciduous fruit spirit. There were tears and laughter, hugs and
scratches, and cries of “Peaches!” in every tone from scolding to
apologetic to jubilant.

“I don’t understand,” I said, turning to Lavinia. “You made all
those mortars malfunction?”

Lavinia looked offended. “Well, yeah. Somebody had to stop the
fleet. I did pay attention during siege-weapon class and ship-
boarding class. It wasn’t that hard. All it took was a little fancy
footwork.”

Hazel finally managed to pick her jaw off the pavement. “Wasn’t
that hard?”

“We were motivated! The fauns and dryads did great.” She
paused, her expression momentarily clouding, as if she remembered
something unpleasant. “Um…besides, the Nereids helped a lot.
There was only a skeleton crew aboard each yacht. Not, like, actual
skeletons, but—you know what I mean. Also, look!”

She pointed proudly at her feet, which were now adorned with
the shoes of Terpsichore from Caligula’s private collection.

“You mounted an amphibious assault on an enemy fleet,” I said,
“for a pair of shoes.”

Lavinia huffed. “Not just for the shoes, obviously.” She tap-
danced a routine that would’ve made Savion Glover proud. “Also to
save the camp, and the nature spirits, and Michael Kahale’s
commandos.”

Hazel held up her hands to stop the overflow of information.
“Wait. Not to be a killjoy—I mean, you did an amazing thing!—but
you still deserted your post, Lavinia. I certainly didn’t give you
permission—”

“I was acting on praetor’s orders,” Lavinia said haughtily. “In
fact, Reyna helped. She was knocked out for a while, healing, but
she woke up in time to instill us with the power of Bellona, right
before we boarded those ships. Made us all strong and stealthy and
stuff.”

“Reyna?” I yelped. “Where is she?”

“Right here,” called the praetor.

I didn’t know how I’d missed seeing her. She’d been hiding in
plain sight among the group of survivors talking with Thalia. I
suppose I’d been too focused on Thalia, wondering whether or not
she was going to kill me and whether or not I deserved it.

Reyna limped over on crutches, her broken leg now in a full cast
covered with signatures like Felipe, Lotoya, and Sneezewart.
Considering all she’d been through, Reyna looked great, though she
still had a hunk of hair missing from the raven attack, and her
maroon sweater wrap was going to need a few days at the magical
dry cleaner.

Thalia smiled, watching her friend come toward us. Then Thalia
met my eyes, and her smile wavered. Her expression turned bleak.
She gave me a curt nod—not hostile, just sad, acknowledging that
we had things to talk about later.

Hazel exhaled. “Thank the gods.” She gave Reyna a delicate
hug, careful not to unbalance her. “Is it true about Lavinia acting on
your orders?”

Reyna glanced at our pink-haired friend. The praetor’s pained
expression said something like, I respect you a lot, but I also hate
you for being right.

“Yes,” Reyna managed to say. “Plan L was my idea. Lavinia and
her friends acted on my orders. They performed heroically.”

Lavinia beamed. “See? I told you.”

The assembled crowd murmured in amazement, as if, after a day
full of wonders, they had finally witnessed something that could not
be explained.

“There were many heroes today,” Diana said. “And many losses.
I’m only sorry that Thalia and I couldn’t get here sooner. We were
only able to rendezvous with Lavinia and Reyna’s forces after their
raid, then destroy the second wave of undead, who were waiting in
the sewers.” She waved dismissively, as if annihilating Tarquin’s
main force of ghouls and zombies had been an afterthought.

Gods, I missed being a god.

“You also saved me,” I said. “You’re here. You’re actually here.”

She took my hand and squeezed it. Her flesh felt warm and
human. I couldn’t remember the last time my sister had shown me
such open affection.

“Let’s not celebrate quite yet,” she warned. “You have many
wounded to attend to. The camp’s medics have set up tents outside
the city. They will need every healer, including you, brother.”

Lavinia grimaced. “And we’ll have to have more funerals. Gods.
I wish—”

“Look!” Hazel shrieked, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Arion came trotting up the hill, a hulking human form draped
over his back.

“Oh, no.” My heart wilted. I had flashbacks of Tempest, the
ventus horse, depositing Jason’s body on the beach in Santa Monica.
No, I couldn’t watch. Yet I couldn’t look away.

The body on Arion’s back was unmoving and steaming. Arion
stopped and the form slipped off one side. But it did not fall.

Frank Zhang landed on his feet. He turned toward us. His hair
was singed to a fine black stubble. His eyebrows were gone. His
clothes had completely burned away except for his briefs and his
praetor’s cape, giving him a disturbing resemblance to Captain
Underpants.

He looked around, his eyes glazed and unfocused.

“Hey, everybody,” he croaked. Then he fell on his face.

Stop making me cry

Or buy me some new tear ducts

My old ones broke down

PRIORITIES CHANGE WHEN YOU’RE rushing a friend to
emergency medical care.

It no longer seemed important that we had won a major battle, or
that I could finally take BECOME A ZOMBIE off my alert calendar.
Lavinia’s heroism and her new dancing shoes were momentarily
forgotten. My guilt about Thalia’s presence was also pushed aside.
She and I didn’t exchange so much as a word as she rushed in to
help along with all the rest of us.

I even failed to register that my sister, who’d been at my side
only a moment before, had quietly vanished. I found myself barking
orders at legionnaires, directing them to grate some unicorn horn, get
me some nectar, stat, and rush, rush, rush Frank Zhang to the
medical tent.

Hazel and I stayed at Frank’s bedside until well past dawn, long
after the other medics assured us he was out of danger. None of them
could explain how he had survived, but his pulse was strong, his skin
was remarkably unburned, and his lungs were clear. The arrow
punctures in his shoulder and the dagger wound in his gut had given
us some trouble, but they were now stitched up, bandaged, and
healing well. Frank slept fitfully, muttering and flexing his hands as
if he were still reaching for an imperial throat to strangle.

“Where’s his firewood?” Hazel fretted. “Should we look for it?
If it’s lost in the—”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I—I saw it burn up. That’s what killed
Caligula. Frank’s sacrifice.”

“Then how…?” Hazel put her fist to her mouth to block a sob.
She hardly dared to ask the question. “Will he be okay?”

I had no answer for her. Years ago, Juno had decreed that Frank’s
life span was tied to that stick. I wasn’t there to hear her exact words
—I try not to be around Juno any more than I have to. But she’d said
something about Frank being powerful and bringing honor to his
family, et cetera, though his life would be short and bright. The Fates
had decreed that when that piece of tinder burned up, he was
destined to die. Yet now the firewood was gone, and Frank still
lived. After so many years keeping that piece of wood safe, he had
intentionally burned it to…

“Maybe that’s it,” I muttered.

“What?” Hazel asked.

“He took control of his destiny,” I said. “The only other person
I’ve ever known to have this, er, firewood problem, back in the old
days, was this prince named Meleager. His mom got the same kind
of prophecy when he was a baby. But she never even told Meleager
about the firewood. She just hid it and let him live his life. He grew
up to be kind of a privileged, arrogant brat.”

Hazel held Frank’s hand with both of hers. “Frank could never
be like that.”

“I know,” I said. “Anyway, Meleager ended up killing a bunch of
his relatives. His mom was horrified. She went and found the piece
of firewood and threw it in the fire. Boom. End of story.”

Hazel shuddered. “That’s horrible.”

“The point is, Frank’s family was honest with him. His
grandmother told him the story of Juno’s visit. She let him carry his
own lifeline. She didn’t try to protect him from the hard truth. That
shaped who he is.”

Hazel nodded slowly. “He knew what his fate would be. What
his fate was supposed to be, anyway. I still don’t understand how—”

“It’s just a guess,” I admitted. “Frank went into that tunnel
knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble
cause. In doing so, he broke free of his fate. By burning his own
tinder, he kind of…I don’t know, started a new fire with it. He’s in
charge of his own destiny now. Well, as much as any of us are. The
only other explanation I can think of is that Juno somehow released
him from the Fates’ decree.”

Hazel frowned. “Juno, doing someone a favor?”

“Doesn’t sound like her, I agree. She does have a soft spot for
Frank, though.”

“She had a soft spot for Jason, too.” Hazel’s voice turned brittle.
“Not that I’m complaining that Frank is alive, of course. It just
seems…”

She didn’t need to finish. Frank’s survival was wonderful. A
miracle. But somehow it made losing Jason feel all the more unfair
and painful. As a former god, I knew all the usual responses to
mortal complaints about the unfairness of dying. Death is part of
life. You have to accept it. Life would be meaningless without death.
The deceased will always be alive as long as we remember them. But
as a mortal, as Jason’s friend, I didn’t find much comfort in those
thoughts.

“Umph.” Frank’s eyes fluttered open.

“Oh!” Hazel wrapped her arms around his neck, smothering him
in a hug. This wasn’t the best medical practice for someone just
returning to consciousness, but I let it pass. Frank managed to pat
Hazel feebly on the back.

“Breathe,” he croaked.

“Oh, sorry!” Hazel pulled away. She brushed a tear from her
cheek. “You’re thirsty, I bet.” She rummaged for the canteen at his
bedside and tipped it toward his mouth. He took a few painful sips of
nectar.

“Ah.” He nodded his thanks. “So…are we…good?”

Hazel hiccupped a sob. “Yes. Yes, we’re good. The camp is
saved. Tarquin is dead. And you…you killed Caligula.”

“Eh.” Frank smiled weakly. “That was my pleasure.” He turned
to me. “Did I miss the cake?”

I stared at him. “What?”

“Your birthday. Yesterday.”

“Oh. I…I have to admit I completely forgot about that. And the
cake.”

“So there might still be cake in our future. Good. Do you feel a
year older, at least?”

“That’s a definite yes.”

“You scared me, Frank Zhang,” Hazel said. “You broke my heart
when I thought…”

Frank’s expression turned sheepish (without him actually, you
know, turning into a sheep). “I’m sorry, Hazel. It was just…” He
curled his fingers, like he was trying to catch an elusive butterfly. “It
was the only way. Ella told me some prophecy lines, just for me….
Only fire could stop the emperors, kindled by the most precious
firewood, on the bridge to camp. I guessed that she meant the
Caldecott Tunnel. She said New Rome needed a new Horatius.”

“Horatius Cocles,” I recalled. “Nice guy. He defended Rome by
holding off an entire army single-handedly on the Sublician Bridge.”

Frank nodded. “I…I asked Ella not to tell anyone else. I just…I
kind of had to process it, carry it around by myself for a while.” His
hand went instinctively to his belt line, where the cloth pouch no
longer was.

“You could’ve died,” Hazel said.

“Yeah. ‘Life is only precious because it ends, kid.’”

“Is that a quote?” I asked.

“My dad,” Frank said. “He was right. I just had to be willing to
take the risk.”

We remained quiet for a moment, considering the enormity of
Frank’s risk, or perhaps just marveling that Mars had actually said
something wise.

“How did you survive the fire?” Hazel demanded.

“I don’t know. I remember Caligula burning up. I passed out,
thought I was dead. Then I woke up on Arion’s back. And now I’m
here.”

“I’m glad.” Hazel kissed his forehead tenderly. “But I’m still
going to kill you later for scaring me like that.”

He smiled. “That’s fair. Could I have another…?”

Maybe he was going to say kiss, or sip of nectar, or moment
alone with my best friend, Apollo. But before he could finish the
thought, his eyes rolled up in his head and he started snoring.

Not all my bedside visits were so happy.

As the morning stretched on, I tried to visit as many of the
wounded as I could.

Sometimes I could do nothing but watch as the bodies were
prepared for an anti-zombie washing and final rites. Tarquin was
gone, and his ghouls seemed to have dissolved with him, but no one
wanted to take any chances.

Dakota, longtime centurion of the Fifth Legion, had died
overnight from wounds he received fighting in the city. We decided
by consensus that his funeral pyre would be Kool-Aid scented.

Jacob, the legion’s former standard-bearer and my former
archery student, had died at the Caldecott Tunnel when he took a
direct hit from a myrmeke’s acidic spray. The magic golden eagle
had survived, as magic items tend to do, but not Jacob. Terrel, the
young woman who had snatched up the standard before it could hit
the ground, had stayed at Jacob’s side until he passed.

So many more had perished. I recognized their faces, even if I
didn’t know their names. I felt responsible for every single one. If
I’d just done more, just acted more quickly, just been godlier…

My hardest visit was to Don the faun. He’d been brought in by a
squad of Nereids who recovered him from the wreckage of the
imperial yachts. Despite the danger, Don had stayed behind to make
sure the sabotage was done right. Unlike what happened to Frank,
the Greek fire explosions had ravaged poor Don. Most of the goat
fur had burned away from his legs. His skin was charred. Despite the
best healing music his fellow fauns could offer, and being covered
with glistening healing goo, he must have been in terrible pain. Only
his eyes were the same: bright and blue and jumping from spot to
spot.

Lavinia knelt next to him, holding his left hand, which for some
reason was the only part of him left unscathed. A group of dryads
and fauns stood nearby, at a respectful distance, with Pranjal the
healer, who had already done everything he could.

When Don saw me, he grimaced, his teeth speckled with bits of
ash. “H-hey, Apollo. Got any…spare change?”

I blinked back tears. “Oh, Don. Oh, my sweet, stupid faun.”

I knelt at his bedside, opposite Lavinia. I scanned the horrors of
Don’s condition, desperately hoping I could see something to fix,
something the other medics had missed, but of course there was
nothing. The fact Don had survived this long was a miracle.

“It’s not so bad,” Don rasped. “Doc gave me some stuff for the
pain.”

“Jarritos cherry soda,” said Pranjal.

I nodded. That was powerful pain medicine indeed for satyrs and
fauns, only to be used in the most serious of cases, lest the patients
become addicted.

“I just…I wanted…” Don groaned, his eyes becoming brighter.

“Save your strength,” I pleaded.

“For what?” He croaked a grotesque version of a laugh. “I
wanted to ask: Does it hurt? Reincarnation?”

My eyes were too blurry to see properly. “I—I’ve never
reincarnated, Don. When I became human, that was different, I
think. But I hear reincarnation is peaceful. Beautiful.”

The dryads and fauns nodded and murmured in agreement,
though their expressions betrayed a mixture of fear, sorrow, and
desperation, making them not the best sales team for the Great
Unknown.

Lavinia cupped her hands around the faun’s fingers. “You’re a
hero, Don. You’re a great friend.”

“Hey…cool.” He seemed to have trouble locating Lavinia’s face.
“I’m scared, Lavinia.”

“I know, babe.”

“I hope…maybe I come back as a hemlock? That would be
like…an action-hero plant, right?”

Lavinia nodded, her lips quivering. “Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.”

“Cool…. Hey, Apollo, you—you know the difference between a
faun and a satyr…?”

He smiled a little wider, as if ready to deliver the punchline. His
face froze that way. His chest stopped moving. Dryads and fauns
began to cry. Lavinia kissed the faun’s hand, then pulled a piece of
bubble gum from her bag and reverently slipped it into Don’s shirt
pocket.

A moment later, his body collapsed with a noise like a relieved
sigh, crumbling into fresh loam. In the spot where his heart had
been, a tiny sapling emerged from the soil. I immediately recognized
the shape of those miniature leaves. Not a hemlock. A laurel—the
tree I had created from poor Daphne, and whose leaves I had
decided to make into wreaths. The laurel, the tree of victory.

One of the dryads glanced at me. “Did you do that…?”

I shook my head. I swallowed the bitter taste from my mouth.

“The only difference between a satyr and a faun,” I said, “is what
we see in them. And what they see in themselves. Plant this tree
somewhere special.” I looked up at the dryads. “Tend it and make it
grow healthy and tall. This was Don the faun, a hero.”

If you hate me, fine

Just don’t hit me in the gut

Or, well, anywhere

THE NEXT FEW DAYS were almost as hard as battle itself. War
leaves a huge mess that cannot simply be addressed with a mop and
a bucket.

We cleared the rubble and shored up the most precarious
damaged buildings. We put out fires, both literal and figurative.
Terminus had made it through the battle, though he was weak and
shaken. His first announcement was that he was formally adopting
little Julia. The girl seemed delighted, though I wasn’t sure how
Roman law would work out adoption-by-statue. Tyson and Ella were
safely accounted for. Once Ella learned that I hadn’t messed up the
summoning after all, she announced that she and Tyson were going
back to the bookstore to clean up the mess, finish the Sibylline
Books, and feed the cat, not necessarily in that order. Oh, and she
was also gratified Frank was alive. As for me…I got the feeling she
was still making up her mind.

Peaches left us once more to go help the local dryads and fauns,
but he promised us, “Peaches,” which I took to mean that we would
see him again soon.

With Thalia’s help, Reyna somehow managed to find One Eye
and Short Ears, the abused pegasi from the emperors’ chariot. She
talked to them in soothing tones, promised them healing, and
convinced them to come back with her to camp, where she spent
most of her time dressing their wounds and providing them with
good food and plenty of open air. The animals seemed to recognize
that Reyna was a friend of their immortal forefather, the great
Pegasus himself. After what they’d been through, I doubted they
would have trusted anyone else to care for them.

We didn’t count the dead. They weren’t numbers. They were
people we had known, friends we had fought with.

We lit the funeral pyres all on one night, at the base of Jupiter’s
temple, and shared the traditional feast for the dead to send our
fallen comrades off to the Underworld. The Lares turned out in full
force until the hillside was a glowing field of purple, ghosts
outnumbering the living.

I noticed that Reyna stood back and let Frank officiate. Praetor
Zhang had quickly regained his strength. Dressed in full armor and
his maroon cloak, he gave his eulogy while the legionnaires listened
with awed reverence, as one does when the speaker has recently
sacrificed himself in a fiery explosion and then, somehow, made it
out alive with his underwear and cape intact.

Hazel helped, too, going through the ranks and comforting those
who were crying or looking shell-shocked. Reyna stayed at the edge
of the crowd, leaning on her crutches, gazing wistfully at the
legionnaires as if they were loved ones she hadn’t seen in a decade
and now barely recognized.

As Frank finished his speech, a voice next to me said, “Hey.”

Thalia Grace wore her usual black and silver. In the light of the
funeral pyres, her electric-blue eyes turned piercing violet. Over the
past few days, we had spoken a few times, but it had all been surface
talk: where to bring supplies, how to help the wounded. We had
avoided the subject.

“Hey,” I said, my voice hoarse.

She folded her arms and stared at the fire. “I don’t blame you,
Apollo. My brother…” She hesitated, steadying her breath. “Jason
made his own choices. Heroes have to do that.”

Somehow, having her not blame me only made me feel guiltier
and more unworthy. Ugh, human emotions were like barbed wire.
There was just no safe way to grab hold of them or get through
them.

“I’m so sorry,” I said at last.

“Yeah. I know.” She closed her eyes as if listening for a distant
sound—a wolf cry in the forest, perhaps. “I got Reyna’s letter, a few
hours before Diana received your summons. An aura—one of the
breeze nymphs—she plucked it out of the mail and flew it to me
personally. So dangerous for her, but she did it anyway.” Thalia
picked at one of the buttons on her lapel: Iggy and the Stooges, a

band older than she was by several generations. “We came as fast as
we could, but still…I had some time to cry and scream and throw
things.”

I remained very still. I had vivid memories of Iggy Pop throwing
peanut butter, ice cubes, watermelons, and other dangerous objects at
his fans during his concerts. I found Thalia more intimidating than
him by far.

“It seems so cruel,” she continued. “We lose someone and finally
get them back, only to lose them again.”

I wondered why she used the word we. She seemed to be saying
that she and I shared this experience—the loss of an only sibling.
But she had suffered so much worse. My sister couldn’t die. I
couldn’t lose her permanently.

Then, after a moment of disorientation, like I’d been flipped
upside down, I realized she wasn’t talking about me losing someone.
She was talking about Artemis—Diana.

Was she suggesting that my sister missed me, even grieved for
me as Thalia grieved for Jason?

Thalia must have read my expression. “The goddess has been
beside herself,” she said. “I mean that literally. Sometimes she gets
so worried she splits into two forms, Roman and Greek, right in
front of me. She’ll probably get mad at me for telling you this, but
she loves you more than anyone else in the world.”

A marble seemed to have lodged in my throat. I couldn’t speak,
so I just nodded.

“Diana didn’t want to leave camp so suddenly like that,” Thalia
continued. “But you know how it is. Gods can’t stick around. Once
the danger to New Rome had passed, she couldn’t risk overstaying
her summons. Jupiter…Dad wouldn’t approve.”

I shivered. How easy it was to forget that this young woman was
also my sister. And Jason was my brother. At one time, I would have
discounted that connection. They’re just demigods, I would have
said. Not really family.

Now I found the idea hard to accept for a different reason. I
didn’t feel worthy of that family. Or Thalia’s forgiveness.

Gradually, the funeral picnic began to break up. Romans drifted
off in twos and threes, heading for New Rome, where a special
nighttime meeting was being held at the Senate House. Sadly, the

valley’s population was so reduced that the entire legion and the
citizenry of New Rome could now fit inside that one building.

Reyna hobbled over to us.

Thalia gave her a smile. “So, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano, you
ready?”

“Yes.” Reyna answered without hesitation, though I wasn’t sure
what she was ready for. “Do you mind if…” She nodded at me.

Thalia gripped her friend’s shoulder. “Of course. See you at the
Senate House.” She strode away into the darkness.

“Come on, Lester.” Reyna winked. “Limp with me.”

The limping was easy. Even though I was healed, I tired easily. It
was no problem to walk at Reyna’s pace. Her dogs, Aurum and
Argentum, weren’t with her, I noticed, perhaps because Terminus
didn’t approve of deadly weapons inside the city limits.

We made our way slowly down the road from Temple Hill
toward New Rome. Other legionnaires gave us a wide berth,
apparently sensing we had private business to discuss.

Reyna kept me in suspense until we reached the bridge spanning
the Little Tiber.

“I wanted to thank you,” she said.

Her smile was a ghost of the one she’d had on the hillside of
Sutro Tower, when I’d offered to be her boyfriend. That left me in no
doubt as to what she meant—not Thank you for helping to save the
camp, but Thank you for giving me a good laugh.

“No problem,” I grumbled.

“I don’t mean it in a negative way.” Seeing my dubious look, she
sighed and stared out at the dark river, its ripples curling silver in the
moonlight. “I don’t know if I can explain this. My whole life, I’ve
been living with other people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to
be. Be this. Be that. You know?”

“You’re talking to a former god. Dealing with people’s
expectations is our job description.”

Reyna conceded this with a nod. “For years, I was supposed to
be a good little sister to Hylla in a tough family situation. Then, on
Calypso’s island, I was supposed to be an obedient servant. Then I
was a pirate for a while. Then a legionnaire. Then a praetor.”

“You do have an impressive résumé,” I admitted.

“But the whole time I’ve been a leader here,” she forged on, “I
was looking for a partner. Praetors often partner up. In power. But
also romantically, I mean. I thought Jason. Then for a hot minute,
Percy Jackson. Gods help me, I even considered Octavian.” She
shuddered. “Everybody was always trying to ship me with
somebody. Thalia. Jason. Gwen. Even Frank. Oh, you’d be perfect
together! That’s who you need! But I was never really sure if I
wanted that, or if I just felt like I was supposed to want it. People,
well-meaning, would be like, Oh, you poor thing. You deserve
somebody in your life. Date him. Date her. Date whoever. Find your
soul mate.”

She looked at me to see if I was following. Her words came out
hot and fast, as if she’d been holding them in for a long time. “And
that meeting with Venus. That really messed me up. No demigod will
heal your heart. What was that supposed to mean? Then finally, you
came along.”

“Do we have to review that part again? I am quite embarrassed
enough.”

“But you showed me. When you proposed dating…” She took a
deep breath, her body shaking with silent giggles. “Oh, gods. I saw
how ridiculous I’d been. How ridiculous the whole situation was.
That’s what healed my heart—being able to laugh at myself again, at
my stupid ideas about destiny. That allowed me to break free—just
like Frank broke free of his firewood. I don’t need another person to
heal my heart. I don’t need a partner…at least, not until and unless
I’m ready on my own terms. I don’t need to be force-shipped with
anyone or wear anybody else’s label. For the first time in a long
time, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. So
thank you.”

“You’re welcome?”

She laughed. “Don’t you see, though? Venus put you up to the
job. She tricked you into it, because she knew you are the only one
in the cosmos with an ego big enough to handle the rejection. I could
laugh in your face, and you would heal.”

“Hmph.” I suspected she was right about Venus manipulating
me. I wasn’t so sure the goddess cared whether or not I would heal,
though. “So what does this mean for you, exactly? What’s next for
Praetor Reyna?”

Even as I asked the question, I realized I knew the answer.

“Come along to the Senate House,” she said. “We’ve got a few
surprises in store.”

Life is uncertain

Accept presents, and always

Eat your birthday cake

MY FIRST SURPRISE: A front-row seat.

Meg and I were given places of honor next to the senior senators,
and the most important citizens of New Rome, and those demigods
with accessibility needs. When Meg saw me, she patted the bench
next to her, as if there were any other place to sit. The chamber was
absolutely packed. Somehow, it was reassuring to see everyone
together, even if the populace was much reduced and the sea of
white bandages could have caused snow blindness.

Reyna limped into the chamber right behind me. The entire
assembly came to its feet. They waited in respectful silence as she
made her way to her praetor’s seat next to Frank, who nodded at his
colleague.

Once she was seated, everyone else followed suit.

Reyna gestured at Frank like, Let the fun begin.

“So,” Frank addressed the audience, “I call to order this
extraordinary meeting of the people of New Rome and the Twelfth
Legion. First item on the agenda: a formal thank-you to all. We
survived by a team effort. We’ve dealt a huge blow to our enemies.
Tarquin is dead—really dead at last. Two out of three emperors of
the Triumvirate have been destroyed, along with their fleet and their
troops. This was done at great cost. But you all acted like true
Romans. We live to see another day!”

There was applause, some nods, and a few cheers of “Yes!” and
“Another day!” One guy in the back, who must not have been
paying attention for the last week said, “Tarquin?”

“Second,” Frank said, “I want to reassure you that I’m alive and
well.” He patted his chest as if to prove it. “My fate is no longer tied
to a piece of wood, which is nice. And if you would all please forget
that you saw me in my underwear, I’d appreciate it.”

That got some laughs. Who knew Frank could be funny on
purpose?

“Now…” His expression turned serious. “It’s our duty to inform
you of some personnel changes. Reyna?”

He watched her quizzically, as if wondering whether she would
really go through with it.

“Thank you, Frank.” She pulled herself to her feet. Again,
everyone in the assembly who could stand did.

“Guys. Please.” She gestured for us to be seated. “This is hard
enough.”

When we were all settled, she scanned the faces in the crowd: a
lot of anxious, sad expressions. I suspected many people knew what
was coming.

“I’ve been praetor a long time,” Reyna said. “It’s been an honor
to serve the legion. We’ve been through some rough times together.
Some…interesting years.”

A bit of nervous laughter. Interesting was the perfect curse word.

“But it’s time for me to step down,” she continued. “So I am
resigning my post as praetor.”

A moan of disbelief filled the chamber, as if homework had just
been assigned on a Friday afternoon.

“It’s for personal reasons,” Reyna said. “Like, my sanity, for
instance. I need time just to be Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, to
find out who I am outside the legion. It may take a few years, or
decades, or centuries. And so…” She removed her praetor’s cloak
and badge and handed them to Frank.

“Thalia?” she called.

Thalia Grace made her way down the central aisle. She winked
at me as she passed.

She stood before Reyna and said, “Repeat after me: I pledge
myself to the goddess Diana. I turn my back on the company of men,
accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.”

Reyna repeated the words. Nothing magical happened that I
could see: no thunder or lightning, no silver glitter falling from the
ceiling. But Reyna looked as if she’d been given a new lease on life,
which she had—infinity years, with zero interest and no money
down.

Thalia clasped her shoulder. “Welcome to the hunt, sister!”

Reyna grinned. “Thanks.” She faced the crowd. “And thank you,
all. Long live Rome!”

The crowd rose again and gave Reyna a standing ovation. They
cheered and stomped with such jubilation I was afraid the duct-taped
dome might collapse on us.

Finally, when Reyna was seated in the front row with her new
leader, Thalia (having taken the seats of two senators who were more
than happy to move), everyone turned their attention back to Frank.

“Well, guys”—he spread his arms—“I could thank Reyna all day
long. She has given so much to the legion. She’s been the best
mentor and friend. She can never be replaced. On the other hand,
I’m up here all alone now, and we have an empty praetor’s chair. So
I’d like to take nominations for—”

Lavinia started the chant: “HA-ZEL! HA-ZEL!”

The crowd quickly joined in. Hazel’s eyes widened. She tried to
resist when those sitting around her pulled her to her feet, but her
Fifth Cohort fan club had evidently been preparing for this
possibility. One of them produced a shield, which they hoisted Hazel
onto like a saddle. They raised her overhead and marched her to the
middle of the senate floor, turning her around and chanting,
“HAZEL! HAZEL!” Reyna clapped and yelled right along with
them. Only Frank tried to remain neutral, though he had to hide his
smile behind his fist.

“Okay, settle down!” he called at last. “We have one nomination.
Are there any other—?”

“HAZEL! HAZEL!”

“Any objections?”

“HAZEL! HAZEL!”

“Then I recognize the will of the Twelfth Legion. Hazel
Levesque, you are hereby promoted to praetor!”

More wild cheering. Hazel looked dazed as she was dressed in
Reyna’s old cloak and badge of office, then led to her chair.

Seeing Frank and Hazel side by side, I had to smile. They looked
so right together—wise and strong and brave. The perfect praetors.
Rome’s future was in good hands.

“Thank you,” Hazel managed at last. “I—I’ll do everything I can
to be worthy of your trust. Here’s the thing, though. This leaves the
Fifth Cohort without a centurion, so—”

The entire Fifth Cohort started chanting in unison: “LAVINIA!
LAVINIA!”

“What?” Lavinia’s face turned pinker than her hair. “Oh, no. I
don’t do leadership!”

“LAVINIA! LAVINIA!”

“Is this a joke? Guys, I—”

“Lavinia Asimov!” Hazel said with a smile. “The Fifth Cohort
read my mind. As my first act as praetor, for your unparalleled
heroism in the Battle of San Francisco Bay, I hereby promote you to
centurion—unless my fellow praetor has any objections?”

“None,” Frank said.

“Then come forward, Lavinia!”

To more applause and whistling, Lavinia approached the rostrum
and got her new badge of office. She hugged Frank and Hazel,
which wasn’t the usual military protocol, but no one seemed to care.
Nobody clapped louder or whistled more shrilly than Meg. I know
because she left me deaf in one ear.

“Thanks, guys,” Lavinia announced. “So, Fifth Cohort, first
we’re going to learn to tap-dance. Then—”

“Thank you, Centurion,” Hazel said. “You may be seated.”

“What? I’m not kidding—”

“On to our next order of business!” Frank said, as Lavinia
skipped grumpily (if that’s even possible) back to her seat. “We
realize the legion will need time to heal. There’s lots to be done.
This summer we will rebuild. We’ll speak to Lupa about getting
more recruits as quickly as possible, so we can come back from this
battle stronger than ever. But for now, our fight is won, and we have
to honor two people who made that possible: Apollo, otherwise
known as Lester Papadopoulos, and his comrade, Meg McCaffrey!”

The crowd applauded so much, I doubt many people heard Meg
say, “Master, not comrade,” which was fine with me.

As we stood to accept the legion’s thanks, I felt strangely
uncomfortable. Now that I finally had a friendly crowd cheering for
me, I just wanted to sit down and cover my head with a toga. I had
done so little compared to Hazel or Reyna or Frank, not to mention
all those who had died: Jason, Dakota, Don, Jacob, the Sibyl,
Harpocrates…dozens more.

Frank raised his hand for quiet. “Now, I know you two have
another long, hard quest ahead of you. There’s still one emperor who
needs his podex kicked.”

As the crowd chuckled, I wished our next task would be as easy
as Frank made it sound. Nero’s podex, yes…but there was also the
small matter of Python, my old immortal enemy, presently squatting
in my old holy place of Delphi.

“And I understand,” Frank continued, “that you two have
decided to leave in the morning.”

“We have?” My voice cracked. I’d been imagining a week or
two relaxing in New Rome, enjoying the thermal baths, maybe
seeing a chariot race.

“Shh,” Meg told me. “Yes, we’ve decided.”

That didn’t make me feel any better.

“Also,” Hazel chimed in, “I know you two are planning to visit
Ella and Tyson at dawn to receive prophetic help for the next stage
of your quest.”

“We are?” I yelped. All I could think of was Aristophanes
licking his nether regions.

“But tonight,” Frank said, “we want to honor what you two have
done for this camp. Without your help, Camp Jupiter might not still
be here. So we would like to present you with these gifts.”

From the back of the room, Senator Larry came down the aisle
carrying a big equipment bag. I wondered if the legion had bought
us a ski vacation at Lake Tahoe. Larry reached the rostrum and set
down the duffel. He rummaged out the first gift and handed it to me
with a grin. “It’s a new bow!”

Larry had missed his calling as a game-show announcer.

My first thought: Oh, cool. I need a new bow.

Then I looked more carefully at the weapon in my hands, and I
squealed in disbelief. “This is mine!”

Meg snorted. “Of course it is. They just gave it to you.”

“No, I mean it’s mine mine! Originally mine, from when I was a
god!”

I held up the bow for all to ooh and ahh at: a masterpiece of
golden oak, carved with gilded vines that flashed in the light as if on
fire. Its taut curve hummed with power. If I remembered correctly,
the bowstring was woven from Celestial bronze and threads from the
looms of the Fates (which…gosh, where did those come from? I
certainly didn’t steal them). The bow weighed almost nothing.

“That has been in the principia treasure room for centuries,”
Frank said. “No one can wield it. It’s too heavy to draw. Believe me,
I would have if I could have. Since it was originally a gift from you
to the legion, it seemed only right we give it back. With your godly
strength returning, we figured you could put it to good use.”

I didn’t know what to say. Usually I was against re-gifting, but in
this case, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I couldn’t remember
when or why I’d given the legion this bow—for centuries, I’d passed
them out like party favors—but I was certainly glad to have it back. I
drew the string with no trouble at all. Either my strength was godlier
than I realized, or the bow recognized me as its rightful owner. Oh,
yes. I could do some damage with this beauty.

“Thank you,” I said.

Frank smiled. “I’m just sorry we didn’t have any replacement
combat ukuleles in storage.”

From the bleachers, Lavinia grumbled, “After I went and fixed it
for him, too.”

“But,” Hazel said, carefully ignoring her new centurion, “we do
have a gift for Meg.”

Larry rummaged through his Santa bag again. He pulled out a
black silk pouch about the size of a deck of playing cards. I resisted
the urge to shout, HA! My gift is bigger!

Meg peeked in the pouch and gasped. “Seeds!”

That would not have been my reaction, but she seemed
genuinely delighted.

Leila, daughter of Ceres, called out from the stands, “Meg, those
are very ancient. We all got together, the camp’s gardeners, and
collected them for you from our greenhouse storage bins. Honestly,

I’m not even sure what they’ll all grow into, but you should have fun
finding out! I hope you can use them against the last emperor.”

Meg looked at a loss for words. Her lip quivered. She nodded
and blinked her thanks.

“Okay, then!” Frank said. “I know we ate at the funeral, but we
need to celebrate Hazel’s and Lavinia’s promotions, wish Reyna the
best on her new adventures, and wish Apollo and Meg good-bye.
And, of course, we’ve got a belated birthday cake for Lester! Party
in the mess hall!”

Our great opening!

Win a free Inferno trip!

And take a cupcake!

I DON’T KNOW WHICH good-bye was hardest.

At first light, Hazel and Frank met us at the coffee shop for one
final thank-you. Then they were off to rouse the legion. They
intended to get right to work on repairs to the camp to take
everyone’s minds off the many losses before shock could set in.
Watching them walk away together down the Via Praetoria, I felt a
warm certainty that the legion was about to see a new golden age.
Like Frank, the Twelfth Legion Fulminata would rise from the ashes,
though hopefully wearing more than just their undergarments.

Minutes later, Thalia and Reyna came by with their pack of gray
wolves, their metal greyhounds, and their pair of rescue pegasi.
Their departure saddened me as much as my sister’s, but I
understood their ways, those Hunters. Always on the move.

Reyna gave me one last hug. “I’m looking forward to a long
vacation.”

Thalia laughed. “Vacation? RARA, I hate to tell you, but we’ve
got hard work ahead! We’ve been tracking the Teumessian Fox
across the Midwest for months now, and it hasn’t been going well.”

“Exactly,” Reyna said. “A vacation.” She kissed Meg on the top
of her head. “You keep Lester in line, okay? Don’t let him get a big
head just because he’s got a nice new bow.”

“You can count on me,” Meg said.

Sadly, I had no reason to doubt her.

When Meg and I left the café for the last time, Bombilo actually
cried. Behind his gruff exterior, the two-headed barista turned out to

be a real sentimentalist. He gave us a dozen scones, a bag of coffee
beans, and told us to get out of his sight before he started bawling
again. I took charge of the scones. Meg, gods help me, took the
coffee.

At the gates of camp, Lavinia waited, chewing her bubble gum
while she polished her new centurion badge. “This is the earliest I’ve
been up in years,” she complained. “I’m going to hate being an
officer.”

The sparkle in her eyes told a different story.

“You’ll do great,” Meg said.

As Lavinia bent to hug her, I noticed a stippled rash running
down Ms. Asimov’s left cheek and neck, unsuccessfully covered by
some foundation.

I cleared my throat. “Did you perhaps sneak out last night to see
Poison Oak?”

Lavinia blushed adorably. “Well? I’m told that my centurionship
makes me very attractive.”

Meg looked concerned. “You’re going to have to invest in some
calamine lotion if you keep seeing her.”

“Hey, no relationship is perfect,” Lavinia said. “At least with her,
I know the problems right up front! We’ll figure it out.”

I had no doubt she would. She hugged me and ruffled my hair.
“You’d better come back and see me. And don’t die. I will kick your
butt with my new dancing shoes if you die.”

“Understood,” I said.

She did one last soft-shoe routine, gestured to us like, Over to
you, then raced off to muster the Fifth Cohort for a long day of tap-
dancing.

Watching her go, I marveled at how much had happened to all of
us since Lavinia Asimov first escorted us into camp, just a few days
before. We had defeated two emperors and a king, which would have
been a strong hand in even the most cutthroat poker game. We had
put to rest the souls of a god and a Sibyl. We had saved a camp, a
city, and a lovely pair of shoes. Most of all, I had seen my sister, and
she had restored me to good health—or what passed for good health
for Lester Papadopoulos. As Reyna might say, we had added quite a
bit to our “good things” column. Now Meg and I were embarking on

what might be our last quest with good expectations and hopeful
spirits…or at least a good night’s sleep and a dozen scones.

We took one final trip into New Rome, where Tyson and Ella
were expecting us. Over the entrance of the bookstore, a newly
painted sign proclaimed CYCLOPS BOOKS.

“Yay!” Tyson cried as we came through the doorway. “Come in!
We are having our great opening today!”

“Grand opening,” Ella corrected, fussing over a platter of
cupcakes and a bunch of balloons at the information desk. “Welcome
to Cyclops Books and Prophecies and Also an Orange Cat.”

“That wouldn’t all fit on the sign,” Tyson confided.

“It should have fit on the sign,” Ella said. “We need a bigger
sign.”

On top of the old-fashioned cash register, Aristophanes yawned
as if it was all the same to him. He was wearing a tiny party hat and
an expression that said, I am only wearing this because demigods
don’t have phone cameras or Instagram.

“Customers can get prophecies for their quests!” Tyson
explained, pointing at his chest, which was covered even more
densely with Sibylline verse. “They can pick up the latest books,
too!”

“I recommend the 1924 Farmer’s Almanac,” Ella told us.
“Would you like a copy?”

“Ah…maybe next time,” I said. “We were told you had a
prophecy for us?”

“Yep, yep.” Ella ran her finger down Tyson’s ribs, scanning for
the correct lines.

The Cyclops squirmed and giggled.

“Here,” Ella said. “Over his spleen.”

Wonderful, I thought. The Prophecy of Tyson’s Spleen.

Ella read aloud:

“O son of Zeus the final challenge face

The tow’r of Nero two alone ascend

Dislodge the beast that hast usurped thy place.”

I waited.

Ella nodded. “Yep, yep, yep. That’s it.” She went back to her
cupcakes and balloons.

“That can’t be it,” I complained. “That makes no poetic sense.
It’s not a haiku. It’s not a sonnet. It’s not…Oh.”

Meg squinted at me. “Oh, what?”

“Oh, as in Oh, no.” I remembered a dour young man I’d met in
medieval Florence. It had been a long time ago, but I never forgot
someone who invented a new type of poetry. “It’s terza rima.”

“Who?” Meg asked.

“It’s a style Dante invented. In The Inferno. Three lines. The first
and the third line rhyme. The middle line rhymes with first line of
the next stanza.”

“I don’t get it,” Meg said.

“I want a cupcake,” Tyson announced.

“Face and place rhyme,” I told Meg. “The middle line ends with
ascend. That tells us that when we find the next stanza, we’ll know
it’s correct if the first line and third lines rhyme with ascend. Terza
rima is like an endless paper chain of stanzas, all linked together.”

Meg frowned. “But there isn’t a next stanza.”

“Not here,” I agreed. “Which means it must be somewhere out
there….” I waved vaguely to the east. “We’re on a scavenger hunt
for more stanzas. This is just the starting point.”

“Hmph.”

As always, Meg had summarized our predicament perfectly. It
was very much hmph. I also did not like the fact that our new
prophecy’s rhyme scheme had been invented to describe a descent
into hell.

“‘The tower of Nero,’” Ella said, repositioning her balloon
display. “New York, I bet. Yep.”

I suppressed a whimper.

The harpy was right. We would need to return to where my
problems began—Manhattan, where the gleaming Triumvirate
headquarters rose from downtown. After that, I would have to face
the beast who had usurped my place. I suspected that line didn’t
mean Nero’s alter ego, the Beast, but the actual beast Python, my
ancient enemy. How I could reach him in his lair at Delphi, much
less defeat him, I had no idea.

“New York.” Meg clenched her jaw.

I knew this would be the worst of homecomings for her, back to
her stepfather’s house of horrors, where she’d been emotionally
abused for years. I wished I could spare her the pain, but I suspected
she’d always known this day would come, and like most of the pain
she had gone through, there was no choice but to…well, go through
it.

“Okay,” she said, her voice resolute. “How do we get there?”

“Oh! Oh!” Tyson raised his hand. His mouth was coated in
cupcake frosting. “I would take a rocket ship!”

I stared at him. “Do you have a rocket ship?”

His expression deflated. “No.”

I looked out the bookstore’s picture windows. In the distance, the
sun rose over Mount Diablo. Our journey of thousands of miles
could not begin with a rocket ship, so we’d have to find another way.
Horses? Eagles? A self-driving car that was programmed not to fly
off highway overpasses? We’d have to trust in the gods for some
good luck. (Insert HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA here.)
And maybe, if we were very fortunate, we could at least call on our
old friends at Camp Half-Blood once we returned to New York. That
thought gave me courage.

“Come on, Meg,” I said. “We’ve got a lot of miles to cover. We
need to find a new ride.”

ab urbe condita Latin for from the founding of the city. For a time,
Romans used the acronym AUC to mark the years since the
founding of Rome.

Achilles a Greek hero of the Trojan War; a nearly invulnerable
warrior who slayed the Trojan hero Hector outside the walls of
Troy and then dragged his corpse behind his chariot

Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Roman form:
Venus

Ares the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half
brother to Athena. Roman form: Mars

Argentum Latin for silver; the name of one of Reyna’s two
automaton greyhounds that can detect lying

Argo II a flying trireme built by the Hephaestus cabin at Camp Half-
Blood to take the demigods of the Prophecy of Seven to Greece

Artemis the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter
of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo. Roman form: Diana

Asclepius the god of medicine; son of Apollo; his temple was the
healing center of ancient Greece

Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom. Roman form: Minerva

aura (aurae, pl.) wind spirit

Aurum Latin for gold; the name of one of Reyna’s two automaton
greyhounds that can detect lying

ave Latin for hail, a Roman greeting

Bacchus the Roman god of wine and revelry; son of Jupiter. Greek
form: Dionysus

ballista (ballistae, pl.) a Roman missile siege weapon that launches
a large projectile at a distant target

Bellona a Roman goddess of war; daughter of Jupiter and Juno

Benito Mussolini an Italian politician who became the leader of the
National Fascist Party, a paramilitary organization. He ruled Italy
from 1922 to 1943, first as a prime minister and then as a dictator.

blemmyae a tribe of headless people with faces in their chests

Britomartis the Greek goddess of hunting and fishing nets; her
sacred animal is the griffin

Burning Maze a magical, puzzle-filled underground labyrinth in
Southern California controlled by the Roman emperor Caligula
and Medea, a Greek sorceress

cacaseca dried poop

Caldecott Tunnel a four-lane highway that cuts through the
Berkeley Hills and connects Oakland and Orinda, California. It
contains a secret middle tunnel, guarded by Roman soldiers, that
leads to Camp Jupiter.

Caligula the nickname of the third of Rome’s emperors, Gaius
Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, infamous for his cruelty and
carnage during the four years he ruled, from 37 to 41 CE; he was
assassinated by his own guard

Camp Half-Blood the training ground for Greek demigods, located
in Long Island, New York

Camp Jupiter the training ground for Roman demigods, located in
California, between the Oakland Hills and the Berkeley Hills

Celestial bronze a powerful magical metal used to create weapons
wielded by Greek gods and their demigod children

centurion an officer in the Roman army

charmspeak a rare type of hypnotism power that chosen children of
Aphrodite possess

Cicero a Roman statesman who was renowned for his public
speeches

Circus Maximus a stadium designed for horse and chariot racing

cloaca maxima Latin for greatest sewer

clunis Latin for buttocks

cohort groups of legionnaires

Colosseum an elliptical amphitheater built for gladiator fights,
monster simulations, and mock naval battles

Commodus Lucius Aurelius Commodus was the son of Roman
Emperor Marcus Aurelius; he became co-emperor when he was
sixteen and emperor at eighteen, when his father died; he ruled
from 177 to 192 CE and was megalomaniacal and corrupt; he
considered himself the New Hercules and enjoyed killing animals
and fighting gladiators at the Colosseum

Cumaean Sibyl an Oracle of Apollo from Cumae who collected her
prophetic instructions for averting disaster in nine volumes but
destroyed six of them when trying to sell them to Tarquinius
Superbus of Rome

Cyclops (Cyclopes, pl.) a member of a primordial race of giants,
each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead

cynocephalus (cynocephali, pl.) a being with a human body and a
dog’s head

Dante an Italian poet of the late Middle Ages who invented terza
rima; author of The Divine Comedy, among other works

Daphne a beautiful naiad who attracted Apollo’s attention; she
transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape him

decimation the ancient Roman punishment for bad legions in which
every tenth soldier was killed whether they were guilty or
innocent

Delos a Greek island in the Aegean Sea near Mykonos; birthplace of
Apollo

Demeter the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans
Rhea and Kronos. Roman form: Ceres

denarius (denarii, pl.) a unit of Roman currency

Diana the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter of
Jupiter and Leto, and the twin of Apollo. Greek form: Artemis

Dionysus Greek god of wine and revelry; the son of Zeus. Roman
form: Bacchus

dryad a spirit (usually female) associated with a certain tree

Eagle of the Twelfth the standard of Camp Jupiter, a gold icon of an
eagle on top of a pole, symbolizing the god Jupiter

Earthborn a race of six-armed giants, also called Gegenes

Elysium the paradise to which Greek heroes are sent when the gods
grant them immortality

Erythraean Sibyl a prophetess who presided over Apollo’s Oracle
at Erythrae in Ionia

eurynomos (eurynomoi, pl.) a corpse-eating ghoul that lives in the
Underworld and is controlled by Hades; the slightest cut from
their claws causes a wasting disease in mortals, and when their
victims die, they rise again as vrykolakai, or zombies. If a
eurynomos manages to devour the flesh of a corpse down to the
bones, the skeleton will become a fierce undead warrior, many of
whom serve as Hades’s elite palace guards.

Euterpe the Greek goddess of lyric poetry; one of the Nine Muses;
daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne

fasces a ceremonial ax wrapped in a bundle of thick wooden rods
with its crescent-shaped blade projecting outward; the ultimate
symbol of authority in ancient Rome; origin of the word fascism

Fates three female personifications of destiny. They control the
thread of life for every living thing from birth to death.

faun a Roman forest god, part goat and part man

Faunus the Roman god of the Wild. Greek form: Pan

Field of Mars part battlefield, part party zone, the place where drills
and war games are held at Camp Jupiter

First Titan War also known as the Titanomachy, the eleven-year
conflict between the Titans from Mount Othrys and the younger
gods, whose future home would be Mount Olympus

Forum the center of life in New Rome; a plaza with statues and
fountains that is lined with shops and nighttime entertainment
venues

fuerte Spanish for strong

fulminata armed with lightning; a Roman legion under Julius Caesar
whose emblem was a lightning bolt (fulmen)

Gaea the Greek earth goddess; wife of Ouranos; mother of the
Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters

Gamelion the seventh month of the Attic or Athenian calendar that
was used in Attica, Greece, at one time; roughly equivalent to
January/February on the Gregorian calendar

Germani bodyguards for the Roman Empire from the Gaulish and
Germanic tribes

Greek fire a magical, highly explosive, viscous green liquid used as
a weapon; one of the most dangerous substances on earth

Grove of Dodona the site of the oldest Greek Oracle, second only to
Delphi in importance; the rustling of trees in the grove provided
answers to priests and priestesses who journeyed to the site. The
grove is located in Camp Half-Blood Forest and accessible only
through the myrmekes’ lair.

Hades the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld.
Roman form: Pluto

Harpocrates the Ptolemaic god of silence and secrets, a Greek
adaptation of Harpa-Khruti, Horus the Child, who was often
depicted in art and statuary with his finger held up to his lips, a
gesture symbolizing childhood

harpy a winged female creature that snatches things

Hecate the goddess of magic and crossroads

Hector a Trojan champion who was ultimately slain by the Greek
warrior Achilles and then dragged by the heels behind Achilles’s
chariot

Helios the Titan god of the sun; son of the Titan Hyperion and the
Titaness Theia

Hephaestus the Greek god of fire, including volcanic, and of crafts
and blacksmithing; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to
Aphrodite. Roman form: Vulcan

Hera the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister;
Apollo’s stepmother. Roman form: Juno

Hermes the Greek god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead; god
of communication. Roman form: Mercury.

hippocampus a sea creature with a horse’s head and a fish’s body

Horatius Cocles a Roman officer who, according to legend, single-
handedly defended the Sublician Bridge over the Tiber River from
the invading Etruscan army

Hyacinthus a Greek hero and Apollo’s lover, who died while trying
to impress Apollo with his discus skills

immortuos Latin for undead

Imperial gold a rare metal deadly to monsters, consecrated at the
Pantheon; its existence was a closely guarded secret of the
emperors

Iris Greek goddess of the rainbow

jiangshi Chinese for zombie

Julius Caesar a Roman politician and general whose military
accomplishments extended Rome’s territory and ultimately led to
a civil war that enabled him to assume control of the government
in 49 BCE. He was declared “dictator for life” and went on to
institute social reforms that angered some powerful Romans. A
group of senators conspired against him and assassinated him on
March 15, 44 BCE.

Juno the Roman goddess of marriage; Jupiter’s wife and sister;
Apollo’s stepmother. Greek form: Hera

Jupiter the Roman god of the sky and king of the gods. Greek form:
Zeus

Jupiter Optimus Maximus Latin for Jupiter, the best and greatest
god

Khromanda (Khromandae, pl.) a humanoid monster with gray
eyes, a shaggy blond pelt, and doglike teeth; it can only
communicate in loud shrieks

Koronis daughter of a king; one of Apollo’s girlfriends, who fell in
love with another man. A white raven Apollo had left to guard her
informed him of the affair. Apollo was so angry at the raven for
failing to peck out the man’s eyes that he cursed the bird,
scorching its feathers. Apollo sent his sister, Artemis, to kill
Koronis, because he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Kronos the Titan lord of time, evil, and the harvest. He is the
youngest but boldest and most devious of Gaea’s children; he
convinced several of his brothers to aid him in the murder of their
father, Ouranos. He was also Percy Jackson’s primary opponent.
Roman form: Saturn

Labyrinth an underground maze originally built on the island of
Crete by the craftsman Daedalus to hold the Minotaur

lamia Roman term for zombie

Lar (Lares, pl.) Roman house gods

legionnaire a member of the Roman army

Lemurian from the ancient continent of Lemuria, now lost, but once
thought to be located in the Indian Ocean

Leto mother of Artemis and Apollo with Zeus; goddess of
motherhood

libri Latin for books

lictor an officer who carried a fasces and acted as a bodyguard for
Roman officials

Little Tiber named after the Tiber River of Rome, the smaller river
that forms the barrier of Camp Jupiter

Luna the moon Titan. Greek form: Selene

Lupa the wolf goddess, guardian spirit of Rome

maenad a female follower of Dionysus/Bacchus, often associated
with frenzy

manubalista a Roman heavy crossbow

Mars the Roman god of war. Greek form: Ares

Medea a Greek enchantress, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and
granddaughter of the Titan sun god, Helios; wife of the hero
Jason, whom she helped obtain the Golden Fleece

Meleager a prince who the Fates predicted would die when a piece
of firewood was consumed. When his mother discovered that
Meleager had killed her two brothers, she threw the wood into the
fire, bringing about his death.

Meliai Greek nymphs of the ash tree, born of Gaea; they nurtured
and raised Zeus in Crete

Mercury the Roman god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead;
god of communication. Greek form: Hermes

Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom. Greek form: Athena

Mist a magical force that prevents mortals from seeing gods,
mythical creatures, and supernatural occurrences by replacing
them with things the human mind can comprehend

Mount Olympus home of the Twelve Olympians

Mount Othrys a mountain in central Greece; the Titans’ base during
the ten-year war between the Titans and the Olympians; the seat

of the Titans in Marin County, California; known by mortals as
Mount Tamalpais

Mount Vesuvius a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy that
erupted in the year 79 CE, burying the Roman city of Pompeii
under ash

muster a formal assembly of troops

myrmeke a giant antlike creature the size of a full-grown German
shepherd. Myrmekes live in enormous anthills, where they store
shiny loot, like gold. They spit poison and have nearly invincible
body armor and vicious mandibles.

naiad a female water spirit

Nereid a spirit of the sea

Nero ruled as Roman Emperor from 54 to 58 CE; he had his mother
and his first wife put to death; many believe he was responsible
for setting a fire that gutted Rome, but he blamed the Christians,
whom he burned on crosses; he built an extravagant new palace
on the cleared land and lost support when construction expenses
forced him to raise taxes; he committed suicide

New Rome both the valley in which Camp Jupiter is located and a
city—a smaller, modern version of the imperial city—where
Roman demigods can go to live in peace, study, and retire

Nine Muses goddesses who grant inspiration for and protect artistic
creation and expression; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; as
children, they were taught by Apollo. Their names are: Clio,
Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia,
Ourania, and Calliope.

nuntius Latin for messenger

nymph a female deity who animates nature

Oliver Cromwell a devout Puritan and influential political figure
who led the parliamentary army during the English Civil War

Oracle of Delphi a speaker of the prophecies of Apollo

Ouranos the Greek personification of the sky; husband of Gaea;
father of the Titans

Pan the Greek god of the Wild; the son of Hermes. Roman form:
Faunus

pandos (pandai, pl.) a man with gigantic ears, eight fingers and
toes, and a body covered with hair that starts out white and turns

black with age

People’s Park a property located off Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley,
California, that was the site of a major confrontation between
student protestors and police in May 1969

Phlegethon the River of Fire in the Underworld

Pluto the Roman god of death and ruler of the Underworld. Greek
form: Hades

Pomerian Line the border of Rome

Pompeii a Roman city that was destroyed in 79 CE when the volcano
Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried it under ash

Poseidon the Greek god of the sea; son of the Titans Kronos and
Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Hades. Roman form: Neptune

praetor an elected Roman magistrate and commander of the army

praetorium the living quarters for the praetors at Camp Jupiter

princeps Latin for first citizen or first in line; the early Roman
emperors adopted this title for themselves, and it came to mean
prince of Rome

principia the military headquarters for the praetors at Camp Jupiter

probatio the rank assigned to new members of the legion at Camp
Jupiter

Ptolemaic relating to the Greco-Egyptian kings who ruled Egypt
from 323 to 30 BCE

Python a monstrous dragon that Gaea appointed to guard the Oracle
at Delphi

River Styx the river that forms the boundary between Earth and the
Underworld

Romulus a demigod son of Mars, twin brother of Remus; first king
of Rome, who founded the city in 753 BCE

Saturnalia an ancient Roman festival held in December in honor of
the god Saturn, the Roman equivalent of Kronos

satyr a Greek forest god, part goat and part man

Selene the moon Titan. Roman form: Luna

Senate a council of ten representatives elected from the legion at
Camp Jupiter

Senate House the building at Camp Jupiter where the senators meet
to discuss such issues as whether a quest should be granted or
whether war should be declared

Sibyl a prophetess

Sibylline Books the Cumaean Sibyl’s prophecies—prescriptions for
warding off disasters—dating back to ancient Roman times,
collected in nine volumes, six of which were destroyed by the
Sibyl herself. The three remaining books were sold to the last
Roman king, Tarquin, and then lost over time. Ella the harpy read
a copy of the three Books and is trying to reconstruct all the
prophecies with her photographic memory and the help of Tyson
the Cyclops.

sica (siccae, pl.) a short, curved sword

Somme a battle of World War I fought by the British and French
against the Germans by the River Somme in France

Somnus the Roman god of sleep

spatha a Roman cavalry sword

spolia opima one-on-one combat between two opposing leaders in a
war, the ultimate display of courage for a Roman; literally, spoils
of war

strix (strixes, pl.) a large blood-drinking owl-like bird of ill omen

Stymphalian birds monstrous man-eating birds with sharp Celestial
bronze beaks that can tear through flesh. They can also shoot their
feathers at prey like arrows.

Styx a powerful water nymph; the eldest daughter of the sea Titan,
Oceanus; goddess of the Underworld’s most important river;
goddess of hatred; the River Styx is named after her

sub rosa Latin for under the rose, meaning sworn to secrecy

Subura a crowded lower-class area of ancient Rome

Summer of Love a gathering of more than 100,000 hippies or
“flower children” in the San Francisco neighborhood of Haight-
Ashbury during the summer of 1967 to enjoy art, music, and
spiritual practices while also protesting the government and
materialistic values

Tarquin Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the seventh and final king
of Rome, reigning from 534 to 509 BCE, when, after a popular
uprising, the Roman Republic was established

Temple Hill the site just outside the city limits of New Rome where
the temples to all the gods are located

Terminus the Roman god of boundaries

Terpsichore the Greek goddess of dance; one of the Nine Muses

terza rima a form of verse consisting of three-line stanzas in which
the first and third lines rhyme and the middle line rhymes with the
first and third lines of following stanza

testudo a tortoise battle formation in which legionnaires put their
shields together to form a barrier

Teumessian Fox a gigantic fox sent by the Olympians to prey upon
the children of Thebes; it is destined never to be caught

Three Graces the three charities: Beauty, Mirth, and Elegance;
daughters of Zeus

Tiber River the third-longest river in Italy; Rome was founded on
its banks; in ancient Rome, criminals were thrown into the river

Titans a race of powerful Greek deities, descendants of Gaea and
Ouranos, who ruled during the Golden Age and were overthrown
by a race of younger gods, the Olympians

trireme a Greek warship, having three tiers of oars on each side

triumvirate a political alliance formed by three parties

Trojan War According to legend, the Trojan War was waged
against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of
Troy took Helen from her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta

Troy a pre-Roman city situated in modern-day Turkey; site of the
Trojan War

Underworld the kingdom of the dead, where souls go for eternity;
ruled by Hades

vappae Latin for spoiled wines

ventus (venti, pl.) storm spirits

Venus the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Greek form:
Aphrodite

Via Praetoria the main road into Camp Jupiter that runs from the
barracks to the headquarters

Vnicornes Imperant Latin for Unicorns Rule

vrykolakas (vrykolakai, pl.) Greek word for zombie

Vulcan the Roman god of fire, including volcanic, and of crafts and
blacksmithing. Greek form: Hephaestus

Waystation a place of refuge for demigods, peaceful monsters, and
Hunters of Artemis located above Union Station in Indianapolis,
Indiana

Zeus the Greek god of the sky and the king of the gods. Roman
form: Jupiter



RICK RIORDAN, dubbed “storyteller of the gods” by
Publishers Weekly, is the author of five New York Times #1
best-selling series. He is best known for his Percy Jackson and
the Olympians books, which bring Greek mythology to life for
contemporary readers. He expanded on that series with two
more: the Heroes of Olympus and the Trials of Apollo, which
cleverly combine Greek and Roman gods and heroes with his
beloved modern characters. Rick tackled the ancient Egyptian
gods in the magic-filled Kane Chronicles trilogy, and Norse
mythology in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. Millions
of fans across the globe have enjoyed his fast-paced and funny
quest adventures as well as his two #1 best-selling myth
collections, Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s
Greek Heroes. Rick is also the publisher of an imprint at
Disney Hyperion, Rick Riordan Presents, dedicated to finding
other authors of highly entertaining fiction based on world
cultures and mythologies. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts,
with his wife and two sons. For more information, go to
RickRiordan.com, or follow him on Twitter @camphalfblood.